Roy Haggerty

Bloody hell. I’m a big defender of refs, but this last 15 minutes would have me checking bookies near James Child’s house. A series of terrible, inexplicable decisions going one way only here.

"We've got a bit of a PR issue lads, in that we're seen as a small-town sport with no ambition and an actual hostility towards anyone who might actually want to attract new fans to the game." "What we need is another team from Wigan. That'll sort it." "Great."

This is the point. Yesterday’s TWP decision was really just the inevitable conclusion of a series of decisions which all served to ensure the concept was going to fail: forcing a transatlantic team to waste huge amounts of money and goodwill in the semi-amateur lower leagues which even most existing RL fans ignore; refusing to provide an equal share of central funding; fixture scheduling which needlessly increased expenses for the club; and of course the blessed promotion and relegation shibboleth which acts as a firewall to protect the established never-wills against the potential might-be’s.

The Toronto decision isn't significant just because of that poor, mucked-about, betrayed club. It's significant because of what it says about our whole sport in this country. I don't think any of us quite appreciate how close we are now to returning to semi-pro status, before gradually dying out. We now know the TV deal will be significantly less. We also know that most, if not all, of our championship and league 1 clubs are at the point where the doctors are soon going to be asking the family whether they want to switch off life-support. The finances of even our largest clubs have been r

Where will SL be in 20 years? A semi-pro comp watched by dwindling numbers in which all good players quickly leave for the NRL or Union. Many of those shrinking numbers will continue to moan into their pints about why "The Greatest Game" isn't bigger/better funded/not dying on its ######, while simultaneously still working themselves up into a lather about previous outrageous suggestions that clubs should be allowed to play rugby league more than 20 miles from the nearest closed pit, followed by the thousandth circular conversation about how we need to grow "the heartlands" first. Th

Neil Hudgell would be well-advised to learn that it’s possible to have a thought without immediately broadcasting it.

Blimey, that was a poor show from GB. Defence was ok, sure, although we should note that Tonga offered very little attacking threat for most of the game beyond big physical runners. Our attack, though, was shocking. Looked like we’d never trained together. And the discipline was unforgivable. Losing so much possession through bad PTBs was terrible.

Kevin Iro’s lad playing wing for Cookies. My god, but I’m old.

It's been a great fairytale for Salford this year. I hope they get a lot more fans off the back of it. However, even a team with a very strong squad would struggle to lose players as key as Hastings (best half in the competition), Jones (Salford's best forward) and Bibby (their best threequarter) all at the same time. And Salford don't have a strong squad, with effectively none of the youth conveyor belt which enables clubs like Saints, Wigan and Leeds to cope with player departures. Unless they find someone with a big wallet willing to recruit top replacements, next year could be a trick

Think you might have made a Freudian slip in there matey.

These interviews just remind me how great our rugby league players are. They’re all so modest, so generous, and actually bloody eloquent. love our sport.

LMS should never be interviewed after a big win! hahahaha

Jackson Hastings showing real grace there. Good lad.

My god but I hated every second of the first 70 minutes of that. But thank goodness it’s over. Well played Salford, and what a fantastic run they had, and what a great performance in the final.

Aaaaaaaand breathe.